Two Old Bloggers - Vikings at Packers

Here we are for the most important game of the season. The Minnesota Vikings on their own have put themselves in a place where they need to win out and get help to make the playoffs and they have started with the game at Labeau Field on a frigid Sunday night in front of the world to see. Can they do it? This team has not done anything easy this campaign, and Vikings at Green Bay Packers is always a tough game made even tougher by starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, testing positive for Covid. Backup, Sean Mannion, just coming off Covid IR gets the call instead. Do the Vikes have a chance to defeat their biggest rival on Sunday Night Football? If they do, look for it to be with the running game. This and more in this pregame show preview. Two Old Bloggers are comprised of Dave and Darren, who both started blogging on the Purple decades ago will go over a way to possibly see how this game will go and if the Vikings can win, so get ready for the Climbing The Pocket and Daily Norseman pregame show! Here are the themes for the show: We'll go over the usual stats to start - the strengths and weaknesses of each team. The news of Kirk Cousins testing positive for Covid. Theme #1 - Justin Jefferson calling out the Vikings Jefferson said he tried to inject some life into his teammates against the Rams. Said they lacked energy. This is a sad statement for the 2021 Vikings. The Rams game was a big game - win and they took a big step to make the playoffs. How can Viking players lack energy in a game that is so important for the team? If the Vikings don't play with more fire, more energy, and more urgency at Lambeau on Sunday, the season will be over. They won't beat the Packers playing with a half-hearted effort. Theme #2 - Vikings Special teams edge Offensively and defensively - TTFW has the edge on the Vikings. Special teams are a different story. The Vikings hold a large edge there - even after giving up a punt return TD against LA My prediction - Kwangwu gets his third kickoff return TD of the season against Green Bay and Mason Crosby will miss another important field goal. Special teams could keep the Vikings in this game and be an important equalizer Sunday. Theme #3 - Mike Zimmer's last stand? Viking fans have been on a Mike Zimmer watch for weeks now. The fans seem to have had enough of the coach and maybe some of the players, too. He's survived so far but will a loss to TTFW be the end for him? I think it will - especially if the Vikings are not competitive in this one. If the Vikes lose the team is officially eliminated from the playoffs.  That will be two years in a row with a losing record. With NFL teams that have a head coaching vacancy allowed to interview candidates as of Dec. 28, firing Zimmer after a loss at Lambeau makes sense. They can get a head start on finding their next HC and not miss out on any candidates they want. And it doesn't impact their playoff push because they will have been eliminated. It's really minimal disruption for the team to go with an interim guy for the final game of the season. I expect the Wilf's to pull the trigger if the Vikings lose to TTFW on Sunday. The Good News - Jared Allen HOF finalist. Join us for your Minnesota Vikings talk amongst Two Old Bloggers and join the conversation! Fan with us!!! Come join the @Climb_ThePocket’s & @DailyNorseman’s blogger show with Darren @KickassblogVike and Dave @Luft_Krigare. Subscribe to us here! - https://www.youtube.com/climbingthepocket Watch this show here: https://youtu.be/HzNF8JP6PSs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/minnesota-vikings-ctp/support